I’ve always used an electric razor and it’s been easy but been thinking about using gel/foam and a blade so went for a Harry’s blade, not sure if I used it correctly as not alot has been shaved. Maybe I should have bought a different blade for a newbie.
1 Like
I’ve only been shaving for about 50 years, so I’m just getting used to it; but what is best for you depends on your skin more than anything else.
I’ve found that good blades are better than cheap ones, but I always go back to an electric razor. It’s much cheaper in the long run and good enough for my needs.
I think you should definitely give wet shaving a go, and if it works better for you, then stick with it; you can always go back to electric.
4 Likes
Harry’s is great, and I prefer Wilkinson Sword gel. Make sure you wash with hot water before rubbing the gel in well. Shave with the direction of hair growth, rinsing the blade under hot running water. Then, when you’ve finished, wash the remaining foam away with cold water.
1 Like
There is a technique to using razors. Which can be tricky to adjust to if you’ve been used to electric shavers where you just wang them on your face and let the guards protect you from everything.
You have a brilliant tool available to you which I didn’t have when I was a callow youth shaving for the first time - YouTube! (I should add, I haven’t shaved in recent years due to preferring a beard.)
While I can’t personally recommend any of them (see parenthesis above), I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll be able to find a video or two where you can clearly see the technique and the angles and everything, and be able to work out what you’re doing wrong (or not quite right).
After that, it’s just practice.
3 Likes
Philips One Blade for me, been using it years!
4 Likes
I use a double edged safety razor. Much cheaper and better shave than the 37 blade cartridges Gillette and co knock out.
6 Likes
Double edge razor for me too, more blades is more irritation for me anyway.
2 Likes
It was something I thought I’d give a go, see if I thought I could get used to.
Ah that is maybe where I went wrong, I just put the gel on with no water first.
Yes I’d looked on YouTube, just not got round to looking at them.
1 Like
This will interest you (and anyone else interested in the history of shaving).
4 Likes
You should define get a closer shave, it’s just a question of whether it’s worth the extra effort. I use an electric razor every day, but would shave every other day when wet shaving.
one blade for me also
1 Like
Thanks for this, interesting.
1 Like
I’ve tried loads of razors. Wilkinson swords, Gillette and all those “mega multi-blade” ones, along with all sorts of foams, creams and oils for shaving.
Honestly. Nothing at all beats a traditional one.
Irritation or poor shaves are often caused by broken blades on a microscopic level that are pulling hairs (like a comb) rather than cutting them.
Get yourself something like this (there are loads on Amazon)
Then buy a pack of blades and it’s pennies per one. Just swap them out frequently and honestly it’s the best shave you’ll ever have*, time after time, plus it’s dirt cheap.
*once you’ve got the hang of using one and have finished slicing your face 
- it won’t take long to learn, just by an alum stone.
4 Likes
Adjustable safety razor all the way, I think it’s this one I’ve got, had it years. Actually I think that’s the upgrade to the one I have but it looks similar.
I can only presume that this is why I have never got on with electric shavers. All I tried, and I tried a few in my day, made my skin red raw
It was a revelation when I first used the five blade razors. Felt more like stroking my face than tugging at it
2 Likes
Same 
I learnt to shave with a razor from watching a dad/son moment in Lethal Weapon 3.
I now tend to use my Skull electric head shaver to shave my face these days. Seems to work better than face electric shavers with guards and faster than razors.
1 Like
Yep that’s likely. I cant find the article that explains it all but basically blades are quite brittle because of how sharp and thin they are, so after a few uses they’re done.
It showed the blades under a microscope and they were all chipped and cracked so as mentioned earlier they were pulling hairs more than cutting.
Multi-blades dont overcome this issue. You just need one sharp blade (think cut throat blade) and you’ll get a really nice clean shave that wont irritate your skin.
The setup is really cheap too. I kick myself when i think back to how much I was spending on Gillette pro fusion blades and trying all sorts of sensitive skin foams. Im still working my way through a pack of normal blades that i bought for my tradional razor for less than £10 nearly 3 years ago
4 Likes
If you do try DE razors, don’t forget to try different manufacturers of blades. You can get ‘starter kits’ for a few quid from eBay that contain blades from Feather, Derby, Gillette etc. They behave in different ways with some being more/less aggressive than others.
1 Like